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ESSENTIALS RED is a 4 week online worship course (6 hours/week). RED is the study of worship languages throughout Church history (time, space, art, music, communion, baptism and more), the Christian Year (holidays like Advent and Epiphany) and the role of the creative leader of faith in worship.
Receive a PDF Certificate when you complete the course. Join today and receive a complimentary 1 year WorshipTraining Membership .
University Study: Learn about taking RED for University credit. Church Pricing: Buy courses in bulk for even bigger discounts.
Enjoy a taste of the delicious content of Essentials RED in the form of a reflection tool for your worship team. Click here for a FREE download with a short video and PDF focused on EPIPHANY: JOINED TO HEAVEN.
Feb. 5 – Mar. 5, 2010 :: June 11 – July 9, 2010 :: Oct. 8 – Nov. 5, 2010
In ESSENTIALS RED, everything has a story – Worship has a powerful one. Consider the influence of just one worship song – Amazing Grace – in reshaping history. Consider how communion, a symbolic action in worship, has shaped lives for 2000 years! Consider how the art and music has led people of all ethnic groups in worship – across centuries. Consider the power of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany. Lent, Easter, Pentecost – in keeping the worship story alive across millenia. Our worship history has much to teach us for today.
ESSENTIALS RED is a life-changing, online, 4 week module course for contemporary and emerging worship leaders with Dan Wilt, M.Min., studying essential values in worship and the spiritual formation of leaders. Packed with media from Robert Webber and others, the course only takes 6 hours a week (10 hours a week if taken for university credit), connecting with an international class of peers. RED is the study of worship through the ages, giving tools for today.
SPECIAL LIVE GUEST: GREGG FINLEY, PH.D. Gregg Finley is Dean Of Arts at St. Stephen’s University in New Brunswick, Canada, and is a historian and specialist in Celtic spirituality and neo-gothic architecture. His insights will bring rich life to our Essentials RED course this round.
WEEK 1 Essential Worship History: The Languages Of Time And Space
How have Christians used the language of time (daily, weekly, yearly and lifetime) to order their worship around Jesus over the millenia? What roles have holidays such as Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter played in the worship life of the Church? How have life journeys and passages such as birth, death, marriage, adolescence and other common human experiences played in the historic worship of the Church? What roles have landscapes, architecture, atmosphere and each age’s cultural experience played in cultivating a living worship expression in each age?
WEEK 2 Essential Worship History: The Languages Of Prayer And Scripture
From the early Church through to the 21st century, the importance of God’s people praying together, and hearing the Scriptures read aloud have played a vital role in engaging the Church in her mission with God in the world. What creative approaches to these forms of worship could strengthen us today?
WEEK 3 Essential Worship History: The Languages Of Baptism And The Eucharist
The language of sacraments and symbols may be unusual for many contemporary Christians growing up outside of liturgical churches. What are the real meanings, biblically and historically, behind the worship acts of Baptism and the Eucharist (communion)? In what ways could we reclaim their vitality in our worship expression today?
WEEK 4 Essential Worship History: The Languages Of Art And Music
The role of the creative leader expressing worship through the media of art and music has been diverse across the history of the Church – from early church symbols, to Michelangelo’s Pieta, to Isaac Watt’s hymns, to Newton’s stunning Amazing Grace. Snapshots of worship history give us insight into how the Church has utilized art to further the missional worship story of every generation.
Our final week of the module will also involve the creative reflection of our learning into a final project that will serve one’s local worshipping community – and others in our program. This is a favorite part of the course for all!
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Our Essentials Core Course (BLUE, RED and GREEN) is available for university credit. There is a bit more cost, and it’s a bit more work, but it’s worth it if you’re interested in the following.
Our Partnership with St. Stephen’s University
St. Stephen’s University (SSU), a protestant/catholic Christian community and university in New Brunswick, Canada, gives credit for the Essentials Core Course (3 modules, 12 weeks).
+ One, 3 Credit Hour Arts Elective applied to any undergraduate work, or undergraduate requirements, at SSU, OR
+ 50% of your Essentials Core Course cost will be deducted from the Travel Study Module of the Masters In Worship Studies In Spiritual Formation Module Program led by Dan Wilt, M.Min.
After completing the Essentials Core Course, every participant who has paid the university price for the course will receive a basic transcript noting the content of the Essentials Core Course, and it’s satisfactory pass/fail completion by the participant.
Check out SSU for more details on their programs, and also for the Masters In Worship Studies And Spiritual Formation with Dan.
What If I Want It To Apply To Another College or University?
We will be working with other universities this year related to Essentials Course credit. Every college and/or university has their own standards as to what courses they will accept for credit.
You should check with your college or university of choice before signing up for the Essentials Core Course to confirm that they will indeed accept it as an elective toward your program. We can provide a university-based course description for you to submit to your school of choice upon request.